Hair drying device

ABSTRACT

A hair drying device including a tube with selectably adjustable apertures. There is a remote and portable blower, wherein the hand piece does not include any logical control circuits. There is a sleeve slidably coupled to a tube wherein apertures of the sleeve and tube align to provide a plurality of aperture configurations when the sleeve is rotated relative to the tube.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This invention claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. §120, to the U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/564,241 by David M. Hadden filedon Nov. 28, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to drying devices, specifically to a hairdrying device.

2. Description of the Related Art

A blow dryer or hair dryer is an electromechanical device designed toblow cool or hot air over wet or damp hair, in order to accelerate theevaporation of water particles and dry the hair. Blow dryers allow tobetter control the shape and style of hair.

For molecules of water to evaporate, they must be located near thesurface, be moving in the proper direction, and have sufficient kineticenergy to overcome liquid-phase intermolecular forces. Only a smallproportion of the molecules meet these criteria, so the rate of waterevaporation is limited. Since the kinetic energy of a molecule of wateris proportional to its temperature, evaporation proceeds more quickly athigher temperatures. Water evaporation also proceeds more quickly withhigher flow rates between its gaseous and liquid phases thus, both heatand air movement contribute to hair drying.

Most models use coils of wire that have a high electric resistivity andheat rapidly with an electric current. A fan usually blows ambient airpast the hot coils resulting in heated air effective for drying. Theheating element in most hairdryers is a bare, coiled wire that iswrapped around insulating mica heating boards. Nichrome wire isgenerally used in heating elements, because of two important properties:it is a poor conductor of electricity and it does not oxidize whenheated. Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples ofreferences related to the present invention are described below in theirown words, and the supporting teachings of each reference areincorporated by reference herein:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,943, issued to Nosenchuck, discloses an axial flowhair dryer comprises a main housing and an outer duct secured to themain housing with the axis of the outer duct coincident with the axis ofthe main housing and with the axial air outlet of the main housingdisposed within the outer duct to form an annular air intake between themain housing and the outer duct. A first fan stage and first statorstage are disposed within the main housing and a second fan stage andsecond stator stage are disposed within the outer duct. A handledepending from the main housing holds a motor that is mounted usingvibration-absorbing material to inhibit the propagation of noisegenerated by the motor. A flexible shaft connects the motor to a driveshaft that carries both fan stages. Resistance heating wires are wrappedaround the vanes of the first stator stage to heat the air flowingthrough the hair dryer.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,030, issued to McCurtis et al., discloses a hoodfitted with a fan in the crown that directs air flow upward from thehood interior. The hood has a liner that provides an air distributionplenum between hood and liner. Air flows from the plenum toward hairbeing dried from holes in the plenum. Some of the holes are, preferably,fitted with movable jets which can be rotated to provide the out flowpattern preferred for the particular hair style being dried.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,363, issued to Feldman, discloses a hot airgenerator having hand fastening means; projecting therefrom there is arigid tube with a lower outlet, tilted so as to face the hair, and arotatably mounted flexible hose, attached in the same manner at itsother end and having a handgrip provided with an internal tube; thedistal end of said internal tube can be alternately attached either to abrush intended for brushing purposes, having aeration holes in its body,or to a flat surface ironing accessory, said accessory beingcomplemented by a similar and opposed accessory connected to the rigidtube, so that any of the two operations may be conducted with only onehand; the first operation by directing the air flow from the rigid tubetowards the hair external layers while carrying out the styling anddrying operations of the hair internal layers by means of thecylindrical brush, and the second operation, by contacting the flat areaof the rigid tube ironing accessory, heated by the latter, with theexternal layers and pressing the flat portion of the opposing accessorywith a sliding motion, which is heated from the handgrip.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,039,301, issued to Aisenburg et al., discloses afterwashing, the hands are dried rapidly and comfortably by using a shapedhigh speed flow of heated air. The air flows in a direction controlledby an air outlet shaped to retain much of the exiting forceful air flowand temperature at a distance where the hands are dried. The airentrainment is controlled so that the properties of the air flow are notdiluted by the air entrainment to a point where the drying performanceis degraded. The forceful air flow blows off most of the loose water onthe hands. The forceful air flow also reduces the stagnation boundarylayers in the hands so that the evaporation removal of the remainingfilm of water is improved. These result in reduced drying time andcomfort during and after drying.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: 2001/0017114, by Carol et al.,discloses a wearable hair styling device in a case, attachable to auser. A hose connect on the case to affix a hose. A battery power supplyconnected to an electric motor and blower and heater are used to directair through a hose.

The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantageswhich include being limited in use, being limited in application, beingdifficult to use, being unable to straighten hair, being limited inmotion, being limited in adjustability, failing to provide optimalsettings, being too heavy, being too noisy, causing harm to styliststhrough repeated use, failing to produce sufficient airflow, failing tosufficiently heat air, being inflexible, being awkward to use, producingnoise at an undesired high frequency, being unable to condition air withadditives, causing the body of the hair dryer to get too hot, beingsingle use/purpose, not permitting precise adjustment of the shapeand/or direction of the heated airstream, not permitting a velocityprofile of the heated air stream to be precisely adjusted, having an airstream that is too hot, not having selectability in the direction out ofthe device where the heated air stream exits, not properly mixing air inthe air stream, not having substantially uniform airflow, having tooslow a response to heating and cooling setting changes, not having abalanced handle, being too likely to set off a circuit breaker, causingstrain to stylists using the dryer, being noisy and having too manyparts.

What is needed is a hair drying device that solves one or more of theproblems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come tothe attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with thisspecification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in response to the presentstate of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems andneeds in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currentlyavailable hair drying systems. Accordingly, the present invention hasbeen developed to provide a system, method, apparatus, device, and/orcomponent(s) of/for hair treatment (drying, straightening, etc.)including one or more of the features, structures, functions, and/oroperations described herein.

In one embodiment, there is a hair drying device that may include a tubewith one or more selectably adjustable apertures. There may be a remoteand portable blower. It may be that a hand piece of the hair dryer doesnot include any logical control circuits. There may be a sleeve slidablycoupled to a tube of the hair drying device. It may be that one or moreapertures of the sleeve and/or of the tube align to provide a pluralityof aperture configurations when the sleeve is rotated relative to thetube.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, orsimilar language does not imply that all of the features and advantagesthat may be realized with the present invention should be or are in anysingle embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to thefeatures and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature,advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus,discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language,throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to thesame embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics ofthe invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that theinvention can be practiced without one or more of the specific featuresor advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additionalfeatures and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments thatmay not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become morefully apparent from the following description and appended claims, ormay be learned by the practice of the invention as set forthhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, amore particular description of the invention briefly described abovewill be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that areillustrated in the appended drawing(s). It is noted that the drawings ofthe invention are not to scale. The drawings are mere schematicsrepresentations, not intended to portray specific parameters of theinvention. Understanding that these drawing(s) depict only typicalembodiments of the invention and are not, therefore, to be considered tobe limiting its scope, the invention will be described and explainedwith additional specificity and detail through the use of theaccompanying drawing(s), in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates four plan views of a hair dryer wand, according toone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a hair dryer wand and threeplan views of various sleeves, according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates two plan views of an end cap assembly and three planviews of a different end cap assembly, according to one embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates two side plan views of various hair dryer wands withair velocity profiles a bottom view of a bottom aperture of a wand and acorresponding velocity profile, according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates two side plan views of various hair dryer wands withvarying air velocity profiles, according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a hair dryer wand, according to oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a pair of bottom perspective views of a pair of varying hairdryer wands, according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the drawing(s), and specific language will be used todescribe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitationof the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations andfurther modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, andany additional applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant artand having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered withinthe scope of the invention.

Many of the functional units described in this specification have beenlabeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize theirimplementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented asa hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays,off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or otherdiscrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmablehardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by varioustypes of processors. An identified module of programmable or executablecode may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocksof computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as anobject, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of anidentified module need not be physically located together, but maycomprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which,when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve thestated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module and/or a program of executable code may be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identifiedand illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in anysuitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure.The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may bedistributed over different locations including over different storagedevices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signalson a system or network.

The various system components and/or modules discussed herein mayinclude one or more of the following: a host server or other computingsystems including a processor for processing digital data; a memorycoupled to said processor for storing digital data; an input digitizercoupled to the processor for inputting digital data; an applicationprogram stored in said memory and accessible by said processor fordirecting processing of digital data by said processor; a display devicecoupled to the processor and memory for displaying information derivedfrom digital data processed by said processor; and a plurality ofdatabases. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, any computersdiscussed herein may include an operating system (e.g., Windows Vista,NT, 95/98/2000, OS2; UNIX; Linux; Solaris; MacOS; and etc.) as well asvarious conventional support software and drivers typically associatedwith computers. The computers may be in a home or business environmentwith access to a network. In an exemplary embodiment, access is throughthe Internet through a commercially-available web-browser softwarepackage.

The present invention may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, user interaction, optional selections,various processing steps, and the like. Each of such described hereinmay be one or more modules in exemplary embodiments of the invention. Itshould be appreciated that such functional blocks may be realized by anynumber of hardware and/or software components configured to perform thespecified functions. For example, the present invention may employvarious integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processingelements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carryout a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the present invention may be implemented at the most basiclevel in machine language or with any programming or scripting languagesuch as C, C++, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQL StoredProcedures, AJAX, extensible markup language (XML), with the variousalgorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures,objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, itshould be noted that the present invention may employ any number ofconventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and the like. Still further, the inventionmay detect or prevent security issues with a client-side scriptinglanguage, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like.

Additionally, many of the functional units and/or modules herein aredescribed as being “in communication” with other functional units and/ormodules. Being “in communication” refers to any manner and/or way inwhich functional units and/or modules, such as, but not limited to,computers, laptop computers, PDAs, modules, and other types of hardwareand/or software, may be in communication with each other. Somenon-limiting examples include communicating, sending, and/or receivingdata and metadata via: a network, a wireless network, software,instructions, circuitry, phone lines, internet lines, satellite signals,electric signals, electrical and magnetic fields and/or pulses, and/orso forth.

As used herein, the term “network” may include any electroniccommunications means which incorporates both hardware and softwarecomponents of such. Communication among the parties in accordance withthe present invention may be accomplished through any suitablecommunication channels, such as, for example, a telephone network, anextranet, an intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point ofsale device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.),online communications, off-line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), networked or linked devices and/or the like. Moreover, althoughthe invention may be implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols,the invention may also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6,NetBIOS, OSI or any number of existing or future protocols. If thenetwork is in the nature of a public network, such as the Internet, itmay be advantageous to presume the network to be insecure and open toeavesdroppers. Specific information related to the protocols, standards,and application software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS ANDPROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999);DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IPCLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” an “example”or similar language means that a particular feature, structure,characteristic, or combinations thereof described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the presentinvention. Thus, appearances of the phrases an “embodiment,” an“example,” and similar language throughout this specification may, butdo not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, to differentembodiments, or to one or more of the figures. Additionally, referenceto the wording “embodiment,” “example” or the like, for two or morefeatures, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are necessarilyrelated, dissimilar, the same, etc.

Each statement of an embodiment, or example, is to be consideredindependent of any other statement of an embodiment despite any use ofsimilar or identical language characterizing each embodiment. Therefore,where one embodiment is identified as “another embodiment,” theidentified embodiment is independent of any other embodimentscharacterized by the language “another embodiment.” The features,functions, and the like described herein are considered to be able to becombined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or artmay direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly.

As used herein, “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “is,” “are,”“characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive oropen-ended terms that do not exclude additional unrecited elements ormethod steps. “Comprising” is to be interpreted as including the morerestrictive terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”

Any of the features, functions, modules, components, elements, parts,devices, and the like described herein may be used in any combinationwith each other and/or may be used alone, and/or may be used to thespecific exclusion of any of the other features, functions, modules,components, elements, parts, devices, and the like described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates four plan views of a hair dryer wand, according toone embodiment of the invention. This figure shows wand assembly topview 1, wand assembly end view 2, wand assembly bottom view 3, and wandassembly side view 4.

In the illustrated wand assembly side view 4 hose connection 24 is madeby sliding flexible hose 27 over wand main body air inlet 39 in wandmain body 14. Note that flexible hose 27 is only shown in wand assemblyend view 2 for clarity. Controls housing 11 is an integral part of wandmain body 14 however, there is a gap 52 between controls housing 11 andwand main body 14 to allow rotating sleeve 12 to slide into positionover wand main body 14. Rotating sleeve 12 is retained in position byretaining pin 13 which is press fitted into wand main body 14, whichallows rotating sleeve 12 to rotate the length of keeper slot 9. Notethat the length and width of keeper slot 9 may be adjusted toaccommodate both lateral and rotational degrees of freedom necessary toaccommodate alternate rotating sleeve 12 designs such as, but notlimited to, alternate rotating sleeve B 32 and alternate rotating sleeveB 32, which are discussed in FIG. 2.

The illustrated installed end cap 5 is friction fitted into the end ofwand main body 14 with indexing so that it can only be inserted in oneorientation and can easily be removed and replaced by a stylist. Hiddenend view 59 shows parts that are part of installed end cap assembly 5and will also be discussed in FIG. 3. Printed circuit board 10 mountswithin controls housing 11 and contains control circuitry necessary tocontrol the blower and heater, which are located in a remote blowermodule. A non-limiting example of a remote blower, hair dryer controlsand other hair dryer systems, modules, structures, features and etc. maybe found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/400,423 by Strollo etal., which reference is incorporated by reference herein in for itssupporting teachings. Printed circuit board 10 also has variousindicators, and controls mounted to it such as power on-off control 22,cold shot control 60, rotating heat control 16, rotating blower control17, heat power LED indicator cluster 21, blower rate LED indicatorcluster 20, on-off LED indicator 19, and cold shot LED indicator 18.

Controls guide 15 provides additional mechanical support for controlshousing 11, which is cantilevered over rotating sleeve 12. Controlsguide 15 also provides tactile feedback to the stylist making it easy tolocate cold shot control 23, power on-off control 22, rotating heatcontrol 16, and rotating blower control 17 by touch. Controls guide 15also helps both protect power on-off control 22, cold shot control 15,rotating heat control 16, and rotating blower control 17 from damage, italso protects against accidental actuation of power on-off control 22 orcold shot control 60 or accidental rotation of rotating heat control 16or rotating blower control 17.

Oblong hole opening 23 and slit opening 25 in rotating sleeve 12 are onopposite sides of rotating sleeve 12. Each can be rotated into positionover opening in wand body 28 so that two shapes for outlet air can beused depending on the rotational position of rotating sleeve 12. Itshould be noted that the opening in wand body 28 can be of any desiredshape and that shape shown is only one illustration of a multitude ofpossibilities. When rotating sleeve 12 is rotated to the position, whichis shown in wand assembly bottom view 3, slit opening 25 controls theshape of outlet air 57. Pressure measurement point 58 is in the centerof the diameter of wand main body 14 upstream of air flow before slitopening 25. Pressure measurement point 59 is also in the center of wandmain body 14, but is downstream of slit opening 25.

Wand main body air inlet 39 has a cross sectional area of about 1 squareinch. Although any ratio of inlet cross sectional area and outlet crosssectional area can be used, the pressure drop between pressuremeasurement point 58 and pressure measurement point 59 decreases as theratio of inlet cross sectional area to outlet cross sectional areaincreases such as would occur if slit opening 25 the same length, butnarrower. The advantage of a lower pressure differential is that theamount and velocity of air coming out of slit opening 25 will be moreconsistent along the length of the slit thus providing a more balancedvelocity profile. Typically a ratio of at this velocity profile can befurther improved by the shape of the slit opening 25 and by the use ofaerodynamic deflectors, which will be discussed later. While any ratioof inlet cross section to outlet cross sectional area of one or greatercan be used, ratios of between 1.2 and 2.0 are generally desired.

By using a remote blower it is possible to make a very small,lightweight wand that can be shaped to conveniently into the stylistshand such that it can be used comfortably and safely. While larger orsmaller wands can be designed a desirable size would be a wand diameter6 of roughly 1.3-inches and wand length 7 of roughly 7-inches. Evenincluding the weight of flexible hose 27 the total weight of the wandand hose held 5 feet above the floor can be on the order of 8 ounces.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a hair dryer wand and threeplan views of various sleeves, according to one embodiment of theinvention. This figure shows rotating sleeve 12 in 4 differentorthogonal views and a single view of an alternate rotating sleeve A 31,and alternate rotating sleeve B 32. A keeper slot keeper slot 9 is shownfor reference.

The illustrated alternate slit opening 29 in alternate rotating sleeve A31 demonstrates one method of velocity and air mass flow control thatcan be incorporated to attain unique velocity profiles. By increasingthe slot width in the direction of pressure decrease a more balancedvelocity profile can be maintained along alternate slit opening 29.

The illustrated alternate spaced openings 30 in alternate rotatingsleeve B 32 provide another opportunity to control the velocity profilealong the length of alternate rotating sleeve B 32. It is obvious thatmany different shapes of openings are possible and that those shown areonly representative examples. Oblong hole opening 23 appears in rotatingsleeve 12, alternate rotating sleeve A 31, and alternate rotating sleeveB 32 but these too can be of different shapes. It is also obvious thatmore openings around the diameter of any of the sleeves shown can beprovided and that rotating sleeve 12 can be indexed so that they alignwith opening in wand body 28.

FIG. 3 illustrates two plan views of an end cap assembly and three planviews of a different end cap assembly, according to one embodiment ofthe invention. This figure shows top view 41 and side view 61, which areorthogonal projections of end cap assembly 5 removed from wand main body14 to reveal aerodynamic deflector A 43, aerodynamic deflector B 44, andaerodynamic deflector C 45, which are attached to aerodynamic deflectorsupports 46.

The illustrated deflectors help turn the air so it projectsperpendicularly from slit opening 25. Said deflectors also help mix theair to create a more constant temperature profile along the length ofslit opening 25. Other aerodynamic deflectors as can other shapes thatcan be used to cause turbulence, which can also aid in mixing of air.

Hidden details side view 26 shows how end cap assembly 5 is positionedwithin wand main body 14 and also how heater assembly 42 is positionedwithin wand main body 14.

View 73 shows an end view of turbulence end cap assembly 67, view 68shows a top view of turbulence end cap assembly 67, and view 69 shows abottom view of turbulence end cap assembly 67.

Vortex generators 70 are mounted to aerodynamic deflector support 46.Turbulence end cap 67 is open as shown by open areas 72 indicated by atits end as can be seen in view 73 and forms an outlet nozzle. Connectingstruts 71 connect turbulence end cap assembly 67 to insert flange 74 andaerodynamic deflector support 46.

Heater support A 37 and heater support B 38 fit together orthogonally toform the structure that holds heater wire 36 as seen in end view 75.Additionally, it positions thermal barrier B 35 between heater wire 36and the inside wall of wand main body 14 and mounts to wand main body 14via mounting holes 33. Thermal barrier A 34 is supported inside wandmain body 14 via a series of circumferential ribs 62 and is connected tothermal barrier B 35 via interleaving thermal barrier joint 51.

While the overall size of heater assembly 42 is small compared to manydryers, heater wire 36 is larger in diameter. Electronic controls (acontrol module) allow for the use of larger diameter wire, which can beoperated at a hotter temperature while still maintaining necessaryphysical integrity and meeting approval agency requirements. Thetrade-off is a slightly slower cooling time when going to a cold shot.But this slight delay in cooling time is made up for by several otheradvantages including that gap between thermal barrier B 35 and thermalbarrier A 34 and the inside of wand main body 14 can be reasonably largethus assuring that wand main body 14 doesn't become uncomfortably warmwhen holding. The control module is configured to effectuate the processdescribed herein.

Since the unit has electronic controls and/or a control module, it'spossible program the microprocessor such that, as the stylist reducesthe temperature from a higher to a lower temperature, the heater iscompletely turned off until the lower temperature is obtained beforeapplying a lower amount of power rather than just lowering the powerdirectly to the new lower setting. The control module may includeinstructions for the same and may be functionally coupled to structuredescribed herein the effect the same.

Conversely, because the total resistance of heater wire 36 in heaterassembly 42 is very low, when the heater is initially turned on or whenheat goes from a lower to a higher temperature a substantial amount ofextra power can be added until the heater reaches the desiredtemperature. Because most circuit breakers allow for short bursts ofhigh current without tripping, it is possible to apply two to four timesthe normal operating current for up to a second or more without blowinga fuse. This substantially shortens the time it takes a hair dryer toget up to temperature. While thermal feedback will also accomplish thisboth when increasing and decreasing temperatures, it is possible to tunethe power applied during the transitions between temperature changes toboth better match the overload trip characteristics of circuit breakerswhen increasing temperatures and create a sensation of faster coolingwhen decreasing temperatures by allowing the temperature to momentarilydecrease slightly below the final quiescent value.

One of the reasons for not relying on feedback control alone is becausethe response time of the temperature sensor and the temperature itactually measures may be different than the overall temperature of theoutlet air. By controlling the heater with a microprocessor duringtemperature transitions, it is possible in software-only to simulatedifferent damping factors with simple software changes. This makes itpossible to change heating coil designs and hand piece configurationswith different overall thermal time constants and match them to anydesired damping factor from substantially under-damped to substantiallyover-damped if required. There may be a module included within the hairdryer and/or hair dryer system that is functionally coupled tocomponents of the system/dryer and includes instructions for carryingout the process described herein.

Another way to think of this is this. Consider getting in your car andpushing the accelerator to the position that you know it will be whenthe car is going 60 mph vs. floor boarding the car until it gets to 60mph and then backing off to the 60 mph accelerator position. The morepower your car has, the quicker it will get to 60 mph. If the totalresistance of heater wire 36 is very low, then the amount of currentthat will flow when it's connected to power can be high. That's the sameas having lots of horsepower. The converse is true when you slow down.That is rather than moving the accelerator to the position you know itwill be in at the slower speed, if the accelerator is completelyreleased until the car gets to the desired speed and then depressed tothe position for the lower speed it take less time to achieve the slowerdesired speed.

One of the issues with professional hair dryers is that they sometimestrip circuit breakers as either the breaker has other loads on it ordoesn't allow for startup current surges. In that case, the electronicsin the dryer can have a secondary range of heater settings that lowersthe power requirements and start up surge current by some pre-designatedamount. While the dryer may not dry hair quite as fast this is a betteroption than constantly resetting a circuit breaker.

Since the dryer is controlled by a microprocessor it is possible toprogram the heater settings to the reduced power settings, suggestedabove, by sending it a signal via a small recessed switch that can onlybe pressed with the end of a straightened paper clip through a smallhole so that it is out of the way and not accidently activated. Ofcourse, other methods of activating or deactivating this feature can beused.

FIG. 4 illustrates two side plan views of various hair dryer wands withair velocity profiles a bottom view of a bottom aperture of a wand and acorresponding velocity profile, according to one embodiment of theinvention. This figure shows a first plan view 49 and a second plan view50 of two variously configured hair dryer devices (wands).

Illustration 49 shows air velocity vectors A 47 measured normal to slitopening 25 at a distance X 63 which is roughly 3 inches for thisexample. Air velocity vectors A 47 illustrate the type of skewed flowseen when there are no internal flow deflectors such as shown in FIG. 3.

Illustration 50 shows air velocity vectors B 48 measured normal to slitopening 25 also at a distance X 63. Air velocity vectors B 48 illustratethe more symmetric flow obtained when internal flow deflectors such asshown in FIG. 3. The velocity gradient across slit opening 25 can beadjusted depending on the shape and placement of flow detectors as shownin FIG. 3 and by the shape of the slit opening 25 in rotating sleeve 12.By reshaping slit opening 25 using the necking-down concept illustratedby slit opening 66 air velocity vectors 66 will show less change overthe length of slit opening 66.

FIG. 5 illustrates two side plan views of various hair dryer wands withvarying air velocity profiles, according to one embodiment of theinvention. This figure shows a first plan view 53 and a second plan view54 of two variously configured hair dryer devices (wands).

Illustration 53 shows air velocity vectors C 55 measured normal to theend of wand main body 14 at a distance Y 64 which is roughly 4-inchesfor this example. Air velocity vectors C 56 illustrate the flow obtainedwhen turbulence end cap assembly 67 is installed and rotating sleeve 12is rotated such that oblong hole opening 23 is aligned with opening inwand body 28.

Illustration 54 shows air velocity vectors D 56 measured normal tooblong hole opening 23, which is aligned with opening in wand body 28,also at a distance Y 64. Note that the air velocity profiles inillustration 53 and illustration 54 appear to be similar even though endcap assembly 5 is used in illustration 54 and turbulence end capassembly 67 is used in illustration 53.

When the air traveling down through the heating coils is laminar the airstreams that pass closest to the heater coils are hotter. These streamstend to stay in place even after they have exited the dryer a distanceof several inches. This can create localized hot spots when drying hair.Turbulence is very efficient for mixing air streams, but the tradeoff isa small loss of efficiency. This is normally not a problem, but in mostconventional dryers there is not enough room to create adequateturbulence and then re-direct the air from the time it exits the heatercoils until it exits the dryer nozzle.

It is important to note that with enough tube length after the heaterflow deflectors can be designed to create turbulent flow, which providesbetter mixing and therefore the temperature gradient over the exhaustarea is more constant. It is important to note that entrainment beginsimmediately after air leaves the nozzle and that as the distance fromthe nozzle increases, the temperature gradient increases. This is truefor either a slit type opening or the more traditional circular opening.

Low temperature gradients are especially important in the slit dryingconfiguration because the stylist generally has blower either touchingor very close to the hair as they move dryer down lengths of hair pulledbetween their fingers. If the heat isn't consistent across slit opening25 some strands of hair will be hotter and others colder. This typicallyresults in some strands getting over-dried in an attempt to get theunder dried strands of hair dry. An experienced operator will know tomove the blower from side-to-side on repeated passed.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a hair dryer wand, according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a pair of bottom perspective views of a pair of varying hairdryer wands, according to one embodiment of the invention.

According to one embodiment of the invention, there may be a hair dryingdevice including a heater disposed within a wand main body, wherein thewand main body is configured to selectably couple to a plurality ofextension members.

It is understood that the above-described embodiments are onlyillustrative of the application of the principles of the presentinvention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Thedescribed embodiment is to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

For example, although the illustrated system includes a sleeve systemfor creating various aperture configurations, it is envisioned thatother systems may be used, including but not limited to movable aperturecovers, iris systems, adhesive covers, chokes, flexible (elasticallyand/or inelastically) aperture boundaries, and the like and combinationsthereof.

It is also envisioned that airflow deflection structures may beadjustable, movable, removable, and or may vary from the illustratedexamples.

It is expected that there could be numerous variations of the design ofthis invention. An example is that various embodiments may have otherspecific shapes, contours, ratios between sizes, angles and the like inorder to meet particular desired performance characteristics.

Finally, it is envisioned that the components of the device may beconstructed of a variety of materials, including but not limited tometals, woods, ceramics, plastics, rubbers, composites, and the like andcombinations thereof.

Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above withparticularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed tobe the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerousmodifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size,materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly anduse may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts ofthe invention as set forth in the claims. Further, it is contemplatedthat an embodiment may be limited to consist of or to consistessentially of one or more of the features, functions, structures,methods described herein.

1. A hair drying device including a tube with selectably adjustableapertures.
 2. A hair drying device including at least one of thefeatures selected from the group of features consisting of: a remote andportable blower, wherein the hand piece does not include any logicalcontrol circuits; a sleeve slidably coupled to a tube wherein aperturesof the sleeve and tube align to provide a plurality of apertureconfigurations when the sleeve is rotated relative to the tube.